Checkmate
by Dark Glass01
Summary: Imanity, a race with boundless potential which once ruled over much of the continent. Blank: the greatest monarch of their time with no qualms about doing anything to dethrone God. When the balance of the world flips on a coin's edge, Sora and Shiro find themselves setting down a darker path, one of conquest and dominance. Because, after all... what is a game without losers?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes: Greetings, fellow No-Lifers! Though this is my first time in this fandom, after watching and reading substantial parts of the series I can see why you enjoy being here. However... being the nitpicker I can be, I also noticed some logic problems in the visuals and wordings of the anime dub (For example, did you notice how in Episode 9 Shiro wins her chess match by making an illegally; by taking a move while in Check that doesn't get her out of Check?), and from one I noticed in the particular language of the anime this little idea sprung up. Hopefully, you enjoy it.**

 **Also, please note I'll be drawing somewhat haphazardly from scan-ilated Manga, Anime, and English Novelization (Thank you Barnes & Noble!) in terms of canon. **

Kannagari, The City of Perpetual Dawn. Nestled atop an inland island beneath the shadows of the mountains, 50 years ago it'd barely been a blip on the world radar: a loose collection of wood and paper structures that was just one of the many Clan capitals dotting the archipelago. Now, however, it stood as a testament to the will and intelligence Warbeasts, who despite being unable to use magic and as such the 3rd weakest of the self-proclaimed Wise raises in the eyes of God, had come to develop a power even the mighty Elves had lost to. Towers of steel and stone, the streets and skyways flooded with commerce and citizens from across their sprawling Federation. Thousands of electric lanterns burning orange and yellow and video screens displaying advertisements and game clips, providing a perpetual shield against the night. Wondrous machines no other race, not even the Fulugel, had managed to discover the secrets of in every building, every street corner, making the lives of all its residents so much easier. And atop a thick-rounded tower at the center of it all, lovingly recreated by her loyal servants, was a cherry orchard and the shrine of the woman all the Eastern Federation owed itself too. A small oasis of peace and tranquility in the otherwise never-sleeping city.

Yet as the Shrine Maiden lounged on her windowsill, gazing out on her people's works, it was not with joy but with a cold-burning fury. She'd dedicated her life to this place, these people, spending her best years struggling, scheming, and politicking to mold her disparate race into one people. How many sleepless nights had she spent in her deepest sanctum, exposing herself to the withering power of the Old Deus or using their knowledge to craft the game that had allowed for the miraculous growth she saw in her city? Her tails twitched reflexively at the memories of those hard times... the terror and uncertainty she'd sworn would never be allowed to plague her people again trying to gain a foothold in her thoughts. Each time they did though, all she had to do was glance a bit to the right, and allow the deep-running anger to pound her weakness back where it belonged.

Those 3 filthy apes... they'd been plastered on every screen in the city for hours now, as if the citizens were finding it impossible to absorb the reality of this mourning's game. Slowly but digging deeply, she scratched he claws through the wood as she watched the replay; the granddaughter of the foolish king without the dignity or strength to even carry her own weight, landing a shot on the back of an opponent fully in the troughs of Blood Destruction. Izuna; a game-warrior trained from birth, defeated by a princess so incompetent she'd had to recruit two commoners to secure her own family's throne. Even without her keen senses, she would have been able to tell Kannagari's dull roar had faded significantly, replaced with thousands of worried whispers... and more then a few annoying curious giggles as dozens of angelic creatures came down from their city in the sky to oogle and drool over everything.

It was enough to drive a less-controlled Warbeast to rampage. On the surface, at least, she strangely remained perfectly calm; still water over a deep-running fury. In an effort to vent, she imagined each of her enemies faces on the board as she dragged her claws along: their smug and bag-eyed King, their emotionless Queen, the constantly flustered Stephenie Dola... punching down on the mental imagine of their Flugel slave as she spotted one of their compatriots fly into a poor, innocent bookstore. "When are they going to get here?" She spoke passively to herself, letting out the pent-up breath in a long sigh and enjoying for a moment the sweet-smelling breeze.

The next moment, she felt like her head was about to shatter, an impossible shrill whistle sounding from the edge of the room. Her eyes went bloodshot as she reached up to push down her hears, frizzing up her hair in the process, as her entire body shuddered in the face of the impossible sound. Thankfully, the rift in reality that caused this unholy sounded lasted barely more then a second, 6 familiar figures materializing through it before an outstretched pair of white wings and a large, circling halo of light. "Ah, we've arrived at Kannagri. We'd like to thank you for choosing Jibril Airlines, and hope you travel again soon!" The still-glowing figure announced, as if a professional flight attendant. Shielded by the glare, it only took at moment for the Priestess to regain her composure, turning her head to face the recent conquering 'hero' even as it still painfully pulsed. King Sora stepped forward first, no worse for wear (Though, considering he was still dressed like some kind of peasant tramp, that was hardly saying anything), his Queen holding his hand tightly and walking only a few inches behind. Her recently-lost subjects Izuna and Ino, on the other hand, were collapsed on the floor, quivering wrecks as they scratched desperately at their ears.

"Oh dear, Master, it seems your new puppies have taken issue with our shifting. I do ask you provide some sound-proof crates for them next time." She continued, voice completely without malice. The blue flames sparked in the Maiden's pupils, firing a quick air-dagger in the disrespectful weapon's direction before faking the smile somebody in her chief guests' rank deserved.

"Welcome..." she continued to look out the window as she spoke, veins already pulsing and not sure if she'd be able to keep up her serenity if she had to look these upstart monarchs in the eye. "I have been waiting for you, Elkiens. I see you're already..." a series of bright flashes broke out in front of her, the Maiden raising a hand to shield her eyes before turning to see the two monarchs with their strange alien devices out. Screens that could fit in the palm of the hand... something beyond even Warbeast technology. They seemed to be designed for the sole purpose of annoying her, considering the rapid and disrespectful speech they were being used in tandem with.

"Golden fox girl? Tail... so fluffy... strokey strokey..." Shiro mumbled, looking adoringly like her... and not the good kind of respectful admiration either, but a mother fawning over a helpless child.

"Is it ok if I take pictures? Hu? Hu? HU?" Sora leaned forward excitedly, not waiting for an answer before snapping as many as he possibly could. These two were so... vulgar, so uncivilized. At least the previous King had the common decency to kneel before the Federation's represenative in her own audience chamber. The Kitsune refused to dignify their behavior with a response, flicking her tails around of her own accord and turning her gaze up the massive structure over her city.

"You two... have really given us an awful lot of trouble," she purred threateningly, gritting her teeth and flaring out her whiskers. Her glare fell on them, eyes and pupils both narrow slits, sparking with an unnatural fire; the look that put the fear of the gods in disobedient servants. Instead of the scent of fear she'd expected, however (well, except from Dola, who reeked so heavy of sweat and stress it was hard to tell), her presence seemed to have flown right over their head, eyes glued to their computer screens and only looking up once the impact was gone.

"Hm? I was only half listening," Sora chuckled, completely unapologetic. "Oh. Well, that's Flugel for you. Still, they got here faster then I thought." Inzuna whimpered, pushing herself back onto her knees and trying to nurse her head. If there was any sight that would push the Shrine Maiden further then she already was , it was that... a poor innocent little girl, abused and her pain ignored even by her so-called benefactors. _Stay strong, young one..._ she prayed silently, itching furiously at the strain of holding herself in.

"Yes... that's it. Since we removed all non-nessicery people and capital from the continent," Ino's head drooped forlornly, resting a comforting hand on his granddaughter's shoulder as he helped her back up. "You couldn't make good use of your new-found territory. That means, you'd have to challenge us again."

"And then you could destroy us for good, with some new game we wouldn't have the dirt on..." Sora finished the thought for her.

"Indeed..." her smile widened slightly as she silently chastised herself for her foolishness. "But we never considered the fact that a weapon so foolish as to fall into Elkia's feeble grasp might still be respected enough in Avent Hiem for her word to be taken seriously."

"I don't blame you," The King shrugged, stuffing his phone and hand into his pocket. "After all, what sane government would trust the slave of a man who declared war on your country?" He then gestured towards Jibrial, his disciple finally looking up from her humble, kneeling stance and resting a hand modestly on her chest.

"However, I am not just any Flugel. I serve as a representative on the Council of 18 Wings... and while my rights there have been suspended, being in possession of my illustrious Master, I still have a formidable degree of influence in Aven Hiem. Once they heard they could get their hands on all the Eastern Federation's knowledge, there was simply no further debate to be had." The thin rain of shimmering spirit energy from the Flugels flying overhead mixed with the billowing cherry blossoms, creating an oddly dramatic backdrop to the otherwise limp Maiden.

"Even with our tricks exposed, we're still more then capable of taking on the likes of Imanity," She turned her eyes back up to the sky, the massive landmass overhead casting a shadow over the city. "And perhaps we'd even be able to hold off the Flugel, if we picked a game not related to mindless slaughter or pointless trivia." Though the didn't move, Jibrial's stance suddenly seemed far more intimidating, watching her host's face unblinking even as Stephanie tried to pull her away in vane. "But once you throw in Ilvengard's invasion as well, and take away our continental resources... that's quite a different matter." The Maiden melted out of her seat, Stephanie redoubling her efforts to stop her fellow attendant's death-stare once she began stalking her way towards the Elkian delegation. "What a mess this is... and its all thanks to you. So here's what I'm going to do." at that moment, she seemed to blink out of existence, the air in front of them rushing back as the fox-girl reappeared mere inches from Sora, leaning in on him with her tails fanned out behind her. She'd practiced every moment of this, pressuring the man as much as she possibly could without physically harming him, and yet...

No response. No fear, nor surprise... not even a reflexive flinch. Imanity's King, despite his otherwise completely un-royal behavior, had an almost unnatural grace under pressure he had honed from the tens of thousands of times he'd stared down the barrel of a virtual, that self-assured smirk never leaving his face. "As representative of the Eastern Federation, I'm taking our vengeance on you RIGHT NOW." She declared, the holy energy within her flaring behind her killer's stare. The room went utterly silent as her words faded... except for the exhausted gasp of Princess Dola, who finally collapsed onto her back from the strain of trying to move the immovable object. It stayed that way for better part of 15 seconds, the two sovereigns engaged in a battle of will.

That is, until the Maiden squeaked right in his face, everything standing on end as a soft "Pet pet..." was heard from behind her. Shiro's small, eager hands stroked up her fluffy tail, eventually hugging her way squeak evolving into a soft moan before the Warbeast violently bit down on her own tongue. Sora looked over the Maiden's shoulder, giving an approving chuckle while Stephanie reached up weakly, arm trembling.

"Queen Shiro... that's... a... foreign... leader..." she gasped, just before the fox's eyes twitched. Deep in her mind, something beastal snapped its way out of its restraints, lashing out to get the offending agent off. It was a reflexive response, putting now limits on her Warbeast strength, Shiro snapping off and flying across the room. The little girl hit the wall with a powerful thud, knocking the air out of her stomach. Izuna shrieked in surprise, Ino looked on Blankly, Jibrial quickly took flight across the room, gushing over her Mistress and holding up 3 fingers. It was all a blur for the Maiden... barely conscious of what was going on around her as her temper boiled over, the blood trying to seep out of her skin.

But, after a brief period of shocked silence, Sora returned to laughing again, still grinning. If she hadn't been so distracted, she might have noticed how both were far fiercer, more intense then they had been before. But that laughter had to be directed at her, at her challenge. There could be NO OTHER WAY.

"Shall I say it again," she growled, baring her fangs. "You've caused us an awful lot of trouble... your death will not be painless." The threat only seemed to carry more weight by the disoriented Shiro in the corner... _True, I hadn't intended that to happen... but it serves that shaven monkey right for touching me without permission_

Sora stared deep into her eyes, a youthful sense of invincibility radiating from her topaz eyes. "Alrighty then... I accept your challenge."

There was a brief walk outside the audience chambers, into the "Open air" over the Shrine's rock garden. Shiro, hunched over, sat at her brother's knee, holding onto his pant's leg like the child she was. On one side of the path stood the Warbeasts: their hearts still with the Eastern Federation despite being technically Elkian property, and on the other Sora's admirers. Looking up at the Shrine Maiden's position atop the bridge, Sora removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a coin, casually flipping it up to a stalwart Maiden.

"Look, its already way past our bedtime, and I don't want to come up with some convoluted strategy, so let's just go ahead and settle this with a coin toss." He sounded impatient, scuffing up his heel on the pavestones as he swung his food.

"You've..." she began confusedly, staring out over their heads as the illuminated path beyond, ending at the gateway that lead out into the rest of her city. Stephanie looked just as confused, jaw dropping as she waited for the bluffing genius to state the catch.

"You're going to stake everything you put Imanity through on a coin toss!?" She fumed, waving her arms about. "I knew you were irresponsible, but this... this... this... is just a whole new level of lazy!"

"Dora, ye of little faith," Jibrial chastised her, bowing her head respectfully "It would be most uncharacteristic of my lord to not put deep thought into this choice of game. You must remember, he sees things as simple girl like you could never hope to comprehend."

The Maiden found herself laughing manically, staring down at the single gold piece. The worth of her nation, the future of the entire Warbeast species, enough power to throw back Ilvengard and Avent Hiem. It was almost too much to bare, now that she'd allowed herself to go lose. Yet, Sora didn't respond... looking her down, trying to analysis her for a weakness perhaps. "I expected more from a challenge REAL gamer, but I suppose I have no choice." She said dismissively, tossing the coin back in the King'd direction once he held out his hand for it. "What are you terms?"

"Here's the deal: if we win, Elkia gets all the Eastern Federation's remaining territory." Iona stood at attention, smuttering at this drastic remark.

"Priestess, you couldn't possibly!" He shouted, raising up a hand in protest. Yet, she didn't look at or even listen to him, folding her arms respectfully over her stomach and softening her smirk.

"... and if I win the coin toss, the Warbeasts get the right to self-rule, and a gurantee of resources from the mainland." She countered modestly, Sora refusing to meet her smile, looking down at a vacant-eyed Shiro. After a fraction of a second, she responded with a nod of approval.

"Aright... deal." The maiden's heart leaping for joy as he consented _The foolish Imanity has fallen right for my trap_. The man before her danced the coin between his fingers. "Seems like a pretty modest bet though... sure you don't want to throw in the right to give me that death you were talking about?" He asked it jokingly, though from the way Shiro clung to him you'd hardly imagine it.

"This Kingdom... I consider it my child. Providing for its security and well-being is all I require." She spoke softly, focusing hard to reign in the desire to answer 'yes'.

"Whatever you say, cutie," he slowed his movements, giving his opponent a clear look at both sides of the coin. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll even let you pick. Which one do you want, heads or tails? I'll just go with whatever you don't." Her skin was almost tingling with glee at how this was all falling into place: Ino grinning sharply under the shadow of his downturned head.

"Are you sure?" She clarified one more time.

"Of course," Sora placed the coin into position on top of his curled finger, drawing everybody's eyes. Stephanie fretted nervously for those last few seconds, looking back and forth between Jibril's and Shiro's expressions of calm confidence and the hidden faces of the Warbeasts. _You're going to lose it all, you idiot_ she thought in a sing-song voice, on the tip of warning him again about her hyper-powerful senses when the cry of "Aschente!" went up from both sides, the King flipping the coin that would decide his conquest's fate.

For the few moments the coin was going up, the Princess sighing in relief. "Maybe she does actually want to play fair...?" She whispered to herself... until the room was interrupted by the hard stomp of wooden sandals, the Maiden's skin shifting and bubbling and crimson and blue erupted from her veins to painting the air around them. She felt all the liquid in her body rush lower at the horrifying sight staining the Warbeastess's skin from the inside and her hair erupting demonically, "Blood Destruction!" She tried to warn her monarch, but by the time she could speak it was already gone, the Priestess wobbling strangely.

* * *

 _At the rate the coin is currently falling, it will hit the ground after 142 flips, bounce 4 times, spin 5.2 second, and land on tails_. The Shrine Maiden's thoughts shot like lightening even as, in her eyes, everything else was moving at a crawl. Every sense she had; feeling the movement and humidity of the air, sensing for magic, measuring the coin's speed, was working at an impossible rate. In an Imanity, a brain working this fast would find its neurons fried out, assuming it even had the senses to take into account the hundreds of variables involved. Yet, in this raw rush it was child's play, her lips frozen in a predatory grin as she stared at Sora's frozen face: the same mixture of happiness and boredom he'd worn at the starting ceremonies or their game, fingers stuck in the position of a thumb's up. _And the only magic is the passive energy flowing through the Flugel. This is it... I can see everything at once. There is nothing for you to exploit._

She allowed the Blood Destruction to end, fainting for a fraction of a second and needing to quickly regain her balance once she regain consciousness. "I pick tails," she declared, watching as the coin went down, just as she'd predicted. Bouncing, bouncing, and...

 **Stopping.**

A few inches in front of Sora's right foot, now perfectly still, Elkia's currency balancing on its edge, as tall and proud as its owner. Ther bystanders just looked down in disbelief, Ino in particular balling his fists together. "Piss off..." he cursed, barely loud enough to be heard, inhaling a deep snort.

"... a tie..." Shiro made a 'safe' gesture with her arms, Sora leaning back and delivering a relaxed, half-sarcastic belly lap before reaching down to tossel her hair.

"Ah, my dear innocent sister. This is why I'm always the one who wins our word games." He thrust his other arm at the Priestess, forming a "V" for victory. "Because... the animal girl paradise is now mine!"

 **Afternote:** Before anybody complains about violence and the Pledges, please remember they only outright ban War, Murder, and Robbery. I presume assault is also more or less assumed, but _unintentional_ damage by accident or reflex is not.

Well, see you next chapter. When explanations will be given.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Notes: Time to reveal the logic! Hopefully it stands up as well in reality as it did in my head. If it didn't... well... I'll make it work!**

 **Obviously, Enjoy and comment if you'd like.**

The Shrine Priestess hissed through clenched teeth, eyes wide as she looked down on her opponent with a clearly forced smile. It was one thing for this filthy boy to gamble her people's future on a coin toss, but lying directly to her face required an entirely different level of gaul. Most of the other eyes on the room were on the offending coin, trapped on its edge between two paving stones, but shared stared straight into Sora's bizzare gesture: two fingers, spread wide like the shadow of migrating geese.

"Is this... what do you call it, flipping me the bird?" Her voice stunted with a painfully false politeness, enough to make her former servents shrink at the real sound. "Such a brazen gesture for one who's trying to cheat his way into a victory."

As if she haden't been speaking at all, the King stepped forward, dropping to one knee. "You never struck me as a sore loser," he casually responded, plucking the coin back into his palm before turning his eyes back up to her, shadowed and more focused then when he'd been standing. "We won the game fair and square... unless you've got proof." His tone dared her to respond, the fox's itensity momentarily broken by the sudden change. _He's trying to intimidate you_ her instincts told her. _Don't let him_. None of his vassals seemed to share her opinion: the Flugel and girl sharing an unblinking serenity while Princess Stephanie scrunched her face in deep thought, but both Izuna and Ino were twitching their ears nervously, repeatedly glancing towards her and waiting for their queen to rip this obvious lie wide open.

"On second thought, maybe it isn't courage. Perhaps you're just too stubborn to admit you failed." Her voice slowly rose as she held out a loose-fingered hand towards Shiro, elbow held to her side. "Your Queen is correct. The coin landed on neither heads nor tails, which makes it a draw." Inno nodded in approval, his granddaughter following his lead a moment later.

"Eh, she always gives out on me about this time of day," Sora rubbed his sister's hair affectionately, holding the gold between his middle and ring finger. "No need to worry about it, you know I've got you covered. Jibril, be a dear and remind everybody what I bet on again?"

"I'll just go with whatever you don't," her voice shifted into a crude imitation of Sora's, echoing powerfully through the garden. "Those were your exact words, no?"

His eyes seemed to glint as his slave answered him. "So, tell me hot stuff... did it look like that coin landed on tails to you?" The Priestess's hair bristled in frustration as the reality dawned on her, heart and soul sinking like a stone as her eyes began to water. Izuna was looking on in wide-eyed wonder, smiling in self-satisfaction as the answer dawned on her.

"... no..." "Nope, Thank you!" "Not at all" "I don't think so" "I can't..." All four of the women in the room besides Jibril pressed the buttons in unison on the podiums that had suddenly appeared before them, a quince of red x's lighting up the front of them, a congratulatory ring sounding from overhead.

"That is CORRECT!" Sora announced, standing there in his new yellow suit and red bow-tie. "Now, let's show our lovely contestants what I've won." The red background curtain rose up, revealing Jibril in a form-fitting, blue sequin dress, arms framing a video screen of shifting images: starting with an airel view of a jungle island, then changing to a white sandy beach (complete with cute bikini-clad animal girls) and later a sunset skyline of Kannagari. "Live like a king and enjoy an island paradise brimming with natural beauty with an all expenses paid, year-round time share to the entirety of Elkia's new western provinces~" she advertised, curving her back as she leaned against the side of the screen. "Dine on the rich rich oyster farms and fisheries, explore the wonders of her near-magical technology, take a romantic walk along her perfect natural ports, or frolic in Disboard's largest zoo; nothing is every boring. The Western Provinces: Enrich your life, and your treasury."

Their host gave them a wide toothy grin, Stephanie's smile glowing and sque-ing like a kid in a candy store, a spotlight and rain of confetti coming down on all of them. Shiro responded with a yawn, rubbing her eyes, and Izuna happily hoping up and down. In the middle of all the noise and excitement, they didn't even notice as the elderly Warbeast made his way behind the lovely Flugel assistant, forcefully tapping her shoulder. "I will not stand for this tomfoolery again." He demanded, holding his ground even against the strong, threatening aura of her disturbed presence.

"My, I suppose you're right," Her show-woman's smile subtly turning up into a rightous smirk. "After all livestock does spook rather easily, so your poor old heart probably can't take much more." Jibril closed her eyes, her halo and spirit circuits glowing so faintly even his keen senses were barely able to detect as the illusion she'd woven faded.

Normality had been restored, the Priestess raising a sleeve to cover her eyes so nobody could see the tears she struggled to hold back. Her knees wobbled, threatening to buckle as she felt the gaze of the rest of the room burrowing into her arm, trying to see what lied beneath. Her ragging anger faded down in the mental storm: the shame of showing such weakness in front of her subjects just compounding on itself. These were her people; the ones she was supposed to stand as a shining example for, to illuminate the way for a new generation of Warbeasts to make their mark on the world. And here she was, crying like a feeble pup as her world fell to shards around her. So deep was the twist in her stomach, the ache in her chest, she could have just curled up right there and died.

But... somewhere at the core of herself she managed to find the strength to keep sitting upright, to hold her tongue from admitting defeat. "I... I don't think so," the despair lingered in her voice , heavily breathing in case of sobs. "Don't think you can fool me. I saw it..." she whipped an arm out, pointing accusingly at the out-of-place tile. "I saw you shift your weight just before it landed. That must have..."

She turned her gaze to a sudden movement, Elkia's Queen crossing her arms in a sign of denial. "Bad girl. Minus 100 cuteness points." In her current position even little Shiro could look down at her, the insult dampening her resurgent resistance. _God, how does anybody but up with these two?_ She wondered, watching Sora and Shiro take each other's hand, frowning together.

"You call us petty, but then try to trump up something like that as cheating?" Sora finished Blank's collective counter, shrugging his free shoulder. "That was just a reflex, like when you sent out that shockwave with your Blood Destruction." It wasn't clear if Ino's support was starting to waver as he spoke, but Izuna's certainly was: looking regrettably at the Priestess and only staying on her side of the path because Ino was holding her arm.

"I don't believe you!" she shot back instantly, shaking her in seat as she let out that cry from the depths of her heart.

"Priestess..." Ino's voice echoed with a deep concern. But she would have no condolence. Dredging up her last mental reserves, she clung onto this final option. Her Federation, her cause... it couldn't be lost. It couldn't!

"Then test us," Shiro suggested bluntly, squeezing her brother's hand tightly. It was then the idea sprung up in her mind, slits widening as she furiously looked over every inch of those vulnerable Imanity bodies, ears standing on end and tilting in their directions as she tried to shut out the rest of the world. Lying wasn't just something one said, after all. There were all sorts of physiological signs: there were eye movements, changes in the breathing and heartbeat, sweat, subtle changes in body language. If they were lying: and they had to be, this was the proof she needed!

"Whohoho!" Steph injected herself into the conversation, both physically and literally, as she ran in between the two parties. She turned to face the two siblings, leaning forward and flailing her arms angrily. "Shiro! What are you doing letting the enemy do the judging for she's going to say you're lying no matter what its like you aren't even thinking who you're doing with are you seriously so..."

"Steph... we've got this," Sora assured her, squeeze her arm firmly and the princess almost melting into his touch. "After all the crap we've been through to get this far, we'd have to be complete idiots to lose it all now." The conviction in his tone, Shiro nodding determinedly as well... it all had to be part of his strategy. _That has to be his trick. Make everybody expect me to 'lie'. If I continue pressing now._

"No... the woman is right," The Priestess pushed herself onto one knee, dabbing away the last few tears. "It wouldn't do to have me to seal your guilt." She craned her head in Izuna and Ino's direction, both of them now at attention as the next step became obvious. "Ino shall so in my stead. Do we have an agreement?"

"Sure thing," he nodded to the Priestess, Ino slowly shuffling over and standing by her side. "And no need to go easy on us, Gramps. Blank doesn't need any handicaps."

"I'd never dream of it, my liege," the old man spoke with the plainest respect. "Though, please keep in mind that, in accordance to the Sacred Pledges, should I find any signs Her Sacred Majesty's claims are true, you shall lose the wager."

"Give us your best shot," Shiro dared it, each of Ino's eyes meeting those of a different King. "Together, we never lose."

Ino drank in the flood of information, cloudy glasses hiding the rapid movement of his eyes. Even harder on his mind then that though was the weight of judgment... doing his best to remain impartial despite the pressure he could feel from both sides. He still had a hand laid on his Lady, feeling her rapid and occasionally irregular pulse. Any other day, and he would have rushed off to prepare tea to help her relax, or allow her to lay out her worries if she requested it. She had lost his freedom on their game with Elkia, true, but there was no ill will from that: after all, to do otherwise would have meant abandoning Izuna to face them on her own. To see her in such pain... it was almost enough to make him weep himself.

And, across from her, the dirty apes who'd done this to her. He might be obligated to obey them, but that didn't make his thoughts any kinder as he observed every minute detail of Sora's face, searching for Imanity's tell-tale signs of lying. The King held a stony expression, one he could remember several times from the screens. This was the look of a man completely dedicated to his task... covering something up perhaps. _Try all you like, boy. These responses are almost entirely subconscious ones._ he showed no less focus on his own task. _That brain you're so proud of will be your undoing... and it shall have no mercy._

As time wore on, Ino found himself increasingly unsure. Try as he might, Sora's body; besides the lingering scent of soap, seemed entirely normal. In the corner of his vision he could see the Priestess, looking on hungrily as she waited for her vindication, the seed of doubt burrowing into her disciple's heart. _She would not allow herself to succumb to wishful thinking would she?_ He tried to convince himself... but the guarantee rang hollow. He could see the man's heart through its vibrations, colored lines pulsing in perfect time. Focusing on the rhythm, Ino began to hear a softer, but distinct sound beneath it... a smaller version at the exact same time.

It finally clicked together, turning his attention to the figure at Sora's side. The little girl, their fingers intertwined, hearts beating in an eerily perfection unison. That wasn't all; the skin temperature, the reflexive twitching, the rate and which they were blinking... _his body, it's taking its cues from her._ A slightly battered but otherwise clean soul who hadn't lied once all night. _Even if he was guilty... how could one possibly tell the difference so long as they're standing together?_ He cursed faintly beneath his breath in Warbeast, slowly releasing his breath out his nose before rendering the verdict.

"Priestess, I apologize, but it appears King Sora is...telling the truth," he regretfully admitted, chocking on his words. "The winner is... once again... Elkia."

Blank parted hands, its taller half squatting down enough from the shorter half to high-five. "That's what I'm talking about!" Sora cheered, bending back to face the heavens. "Let the choirs of angels sing, for man has once again come to reign in the ultimate Eden!" Shiro was also smiling... though unlike her brother was glaring threateningly at Izuna. The girl seemed shocked; still smiling but standing far more nervously then before.

"Then its finished," The Priestess said hopelessly. "Its gone, its all gone." There were no more tears, no more sobs: she didn't even have the energy for that anymore, a trail of pink dust drifting down behind her from an overhead Flugel invader. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"Its actually quite simple," Jibril came up to her Master's side, re-materializing the same board as before. On it was displayed a map of Disboard; Federation red lingering on the outlying islands for the time being. "No matter how much a dog might beg, it hardly makes sense to feed them if you're s1tarving yourself, no?"

"Not quite the way I'd put it, but that's the right adea," Sora supported her, standing just to the side of Elkia's new continental territory. "I've got to hand it to you lady, you played the long game really well. Present supposedly lenient terms for lose, then do everything you can to get convince your opponent to accept them; that's a pretty good strategy. Sounds like some I'd come up with myself in your position." Sora pointed to a series of points on the continent, producing symbols that identified key recently abandoned Warbeast mining and farming centers.

"Which is exactly why I'd never fall for it. See, despite what Steph thinks, I do actually read over her reports from time to time." Shiro tugging at his pants leg and Stephanie looking him down caused him to quickly retract the statement. "Alright alright... I have Shiro read them and give me a quick walkthrough. Anyways, even with all the reforms we've managed to cram through 3 million Imanity is a lot of subjects. All this new territory was a real god-send... provided, of course, we can get what we need out of it. And that's where your ploy comes in." The sight symbols turned from black to red, like islands over their own in an blue sea.

"At first glance, self-government for the Warbeasts and a guarantee of resources might not sound like much. After all, Elkia still gets to own the land and the prestige that comes with it, right? That's what you were trying to get us to think anyways. But I've played enough grand strategy to knows the tiles themselves are worth nothing... what's really important is what's on them." Extremely simplified images of Warbeasts appeared on the screen, moving back from the islands to Elkia's mainland territory. "See, if Elkia's King gives Warbeasts self-government, that means I'd be bound by the Pledges not to apply our government to them... even in Elkian territory. Even discounting technology, that'll put our own merchants and companies at a huge disadvantages." Symbols of Elkian currency; concentrated in the Capital, were quickly overtaken by Eastern Federation symbols. "And that technology gap is especially critical. After all, how are we supposed to really exploit our resources without the technology you pulled back to the capital. You saw what we've already managed to accomplish... imagine what we could do with the right tools. But here's a question: what's the one thing you absolutely can't do without if you want to use modern technology?"

He was about to answer his own rhetorically question, the Priestess watching him with a perverse sense of awe as the disheveled King seemed to be reading her mind, when Shiro raised her hand. "Resources," she corrected guessed, the red mines, farms, wells and refineries blinking again as if to make their point. "Elkia and the Federation both need the same kinds of resources if they want to thrive."

"But..." she stuttered, running the numbers in her head. "If the Warbeasts keep extracting at the same rate they did before, their woulden't be enough left over for us to do anything!"

"Its worse then that," Sora affirmed, tracing a line between the Continental domain and the Eastern Federation's island. "The Warbeasts have a pretty large population and not much continental territory. Obviously you've been exploiting it pretty heavily to get everything you need. But at least it was only limited to the territory they controlled directly." He then focused in on Elkia's pre-Game domain; mostly bereft of valuable minerals but still containing a dozen or so good mines. "A guarantee of resource from the continent as a whole means they'd have the right to stake our old minerals too. If they did that, advancing under our own power would be next to impossible. Elkia would be forced to import basically any manufactured goods it wants from the Federation. And as for our new territories... who do you think is going to be paying for all the maintenance costs there."

"In other words... you own everything that makes money, we own everything that costs money." Shiro concluded, shaking her head. "Bad trade, no deal."

"But..." Izuna sobbed, the tears finally starting to flow after a long-painful build-up as she'd listened to Sora's speech. "You... promised... nobody would suffer, please?" The word actually sounded like a question rather than an add-on, a please as she looked up with wide, wet eyes and droopy ears. Such a _moe_ sight quickly grabbed Sora's attention, staring longingly at the begging kitsune. _Gods,who could say no to that face?_ his heart spoke, only saved from himself as Shiro delivered a childish bonk to his head, held up by Jibril.

"Don't ruin this," she instructed, shadow falling eyes as she brought her brother back to his senses. "You aren't allowed to treat anybody better then your cute little sister?" The girl tilted her head, trying to look adorable as possible as she nuzzled her head into the crock of his neck. It would have been almost heartwarming, if Sora diden't look like he was about to have a panic attack, flashing between the sides of this two-pronged cuteness assault.

"Oh, why must you be so cruel? Just... just look at her!" Sora tried to 'reason' with her, Izuna following her counterpart's lead and latching on to his waist. The joy was almost overwhelming, only held back by the competitive and completely-uncute glare both were giving him. _Calm down, Sora, let's try to deal with this rationally. You've got two unbelievably cute girls competing for your affection. Let's rank them: Option one; moody, well-dressed, pale. Option two: Strong, ill-tempered, and half dog... God, how am I supposed to choose!_

The next moments were pure agony, heart and head smashing against one another before, in a brief moment of one of their dominances, he cried to the heavens. "TEAM SHIRO!"; that same girl pulling away and raising a thumb in approval. "Sorry Izuna. I know I promised you that but... there just isn't enough resources to make it happen. Don't worry... as subjects of Elkia, you'll still be able to buy some stuff from the continent."

"Dear Master, how do you get all these females so attached to you?" Jibril blushed, setting Shiro down so she could hold her cheek. "To carry something that is such a blessing as well as a curse... there's got to be something."

Yet, there was one woman in the room who hadn't fawned over him: that woman slowly coming back up to her feet, holding a closed fist just over her left breast. "Elkian subjects..."

Sora finally turned his attention back to her, apologetically petting Izuna behind her ears. "Well yah... these islands are ours now, after all. Only makes sense that the people who're going to live here are going to be Elkians. After all... why would I want to give up my hold over such a perfect paradise? I'm going to be neck-deep in animal-eared beauties calling me Master!"

Gods, was he drooling over that? This man was no King... even as utterly defeated as she was, the Priestess couldn't imagine bowing to him. He could deck himself out in as many noble titles and fancy crowns as he wanted: the difference between a true ruler and a bully was far deeper then that. "... and if we won't submit?"

"... then you're trespassing, and we'll have you arrested," Shiro responded without hesitation, pointing to the door. "No *bleep*s allowed."

"Nai Hemankoji Shiro! Where did you learn such age-inappropriate language!" Her brother immediately began chastising her.

Shiro took his outburst in stride, looking up at the still flubbing Flugel. "Jibril taught me. When we were taking Izuna back to the castle, she told me she was going to be our little..."

"I meant it entirely innocently!" Jibril apologized, waving down with one hand while using the other to stop Shiro's sentence. "Is that not how you Imanity refer to female canines?"

"Sometimes... I guess... but its got a really unwholesome connotation to it! Especially if you're talking to a lady!"

"Grandpa... what a *bleep*?, thanks?" Izuna posed innocently, the old man blushing deeply at her saying that word. The conversation grew increasingly hard to follow after that; a series of excuses and half-finishing explanations flying chaotically between the Elkian subjects as the Priestess made her way silently to the door; keeping as much of herself as she could between them and her heart. She could feel the force inside pulse weakly, the silhouette of a minaret shining out from her breasts. The corridors of the shrine she knew so well faded away behind her, barely giving them a last look as she ran. She passed under archways, treasure rooms, archives of box and electronic data... all enemy property now as she threw herself out of the final door, onto the mercy of the Flugel and Elven forces arrayed around her lost city.

He had taken everything from her... everything but what really mattered. In the shadows of the urban alleyways, she let herself look upon it: The Warbeast race piece shining in her cupped palms, for her and her only to see. She was alone, this bishop latticed with teal webs the last hope to save her people from enslavement at Imanity's hands. But so long as the slimmest of odds remained, she could not give up. Her eyes burst, flooded with a localized Blood Destruction, admiring the piece with an almost demonic sight.

Perhaps it was time to meet with those Senators once again...


End file.
